8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Charles CyphersHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 43% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English: Dolby Digital Mono (Original)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Before Freddy Krueger, before Jason Voorhees, before Chucky, there was Michael Myers. On a dark Halloween night when Myers was a boy dressed in the outfit of a clown, he grabbed a large kitchen knife, went upstairs to his sister's bedroom and stabbed her to death. This horrific act is the opening salvo in John Carpenter's Halloween, a film that spawned a generation of horror films, sequels and variations on the slasher theme. The difference between the original and most of what came after is that John Carpenter is tremendously talented and learned his craft better than his peers. He used the camera and sets (usually in cramped areas of houses) to generate suspense and terror, but never became too formulaic in his approach to camerawork.
A young Jamie Lee Curtis got her career off to a good start as Laurie Strode in Halloween. The definition on the Blu-ray looks fantastic.
Brighter, clearer, more detailed and with vastly improved resolution over previous NTSC versions,
Halloween on Blu-ray looks like it could have been filmed last year, rather than 30 years
ago. The
depth is startlingly lifelike, aside from lens issues that cause foreground blurriness in a few scenes.
These problems are in the original film and not related to the digitization process that yielded
1080p content. Overall, the grain and blur are not intrusive and the average viewer will not notice
it. Contrast, black level, color saturation and skin tones are spot on.
I especially enjoyed the daytime scenes in the suburban Illinois neighborhood as Strode walks to
and from school. With quiet streets, autumn trees, green lawns and houses of various colors, the
picture is alive with vibrant detail and lush color. And that just brings the horror of the film home
even harder.
The Blu-ray disc's one weak spot is its audio performance. Back in 1978, audio engineering
seemed
to be at a low point. Here, the voices, sound effects and music sound boxy, slightly muffled and
tonally odd. The voices fare best while the music sounds absolutely terrible, weak and distorted.
The PCM content helps some, but Starz may not have had all that much to work with in the
original master recording. A remaster can only be as good as the original recording. Still, the
voices
had decent presence and the screaming and music had enough impact to stand one's hair on
end.
Audio can elicit a more primal emotional response than video, and Carpenter uses it to great
effect
here. Take, for example, the scene where Loomis is casing the inside of the old Myers residence
and
a large object comes through the window, creating a loud sound. It is difficult to see what
happened, but the audio alone creates the drama. Compare that to the scene shortly thereafter,
when Loomis, standing outside and waiting to see if Myers will return, is suddenly grabbed on the
shoulder by the sheriff. With no loud noise, the scene doesn't have as much impact. Often,
Carpenter uses the music to punctuate the action and provide the emotional cues to prepare us
or
surprise us.
The only worthwhile bonus feature included on the Blu-ray disc is audio commentary with John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis and producer Debra Hill. The others are mostly throwaways, though they may provide the occasional tidbit for die-hard fans: Fast Film Facts, A Cut Above the Rest Featurette, Trailer, TV Spots and Radio Spots.
In the tradition of Psycho and Rear Window, Halloween succeeds on many levels to bring horror to the screens of Blu-ray enthusiasts. Much can be said of this cult classic. I find it interesting that the only women who are killed seem promiscuous, while the woman who survives is not sexually active. Is Michael Myers really a moralist? I'm not serious, of course, but it is interesting to follow such things in horror movies. For picture quality and for fans of the genre, Halloween gets a solid recommendation.
35th Anniversary Edition
1978
35th Anniversary Edition
1978
35th Anniversary Edition
1978
The Complete Collection Edition
1978
1978
1978
1978
Collector's Edition
1978
Collector's Edition | Exclusive Red, Yellow and Orange Splatter 7" Vinyl + Poster
1978
Collector's Edition | Sacred Bones Exclusive | Exclusive Black, White and Orange Splatter 7" Vinyl
1978
2018
Unrated Director's Cut
2009
30th Anniversary Edition | Includes "Terror in the Aisles"
1981
Collector's Edition
1988
2017
Unrated Collector's Edition
2007
1998
Limited Edition
1980
Unrated
2005
2013
1981
2009
Collector's Edition
1989
2016
Halloween 8
2002
Collector's Edition
1982
1995
Uncut
2013
2012
1982